Dispatch - Roddy Woomble

Keeping fit has never seemed so Orwellian but Roddy Woomble has the stomach for it.

It feels like we’ve going through some sort of food revolution at the moment, or maybe it’s just because I’ve started to notice it a bit more now that I’ve started taking an interest in growing vegetables and reading books about soil types. Still, queuing up last week to get into the organic food fair in Glasgow’s Fruitmarket was a surprise. I love markets, and fairs and anything with stalls and handmade things -so much more interesting than big shops. Also, I’ve become quite a fan of asking the seller about their product. You’d be surprised what you can learn, about red wine, coffee beans, pumpkin seeds, ale and pork sausages if you ask. People seemed happy there too, maybe it’s a result of an organic, healthy lifestyle, or maybe it’s because the fact that so many people showed up to a food fair, that the tides are slowly turning. I hope so.

I’ve been trying my hand at getting fit recently too. Much to the amusement of those around me I’ve joined a gym and have been swimming and going on the fake rowing boat machine. It’s a different environment for me, that’s for sure. Seems nice enough, although I feel a bit like a rag doll compared to the tight lycra, muscle shirts of my fellow fitness fanatics. Rowing backwards and forwards and getting nowhere, in a line with a lot of other people rowing backwards and forwards (and going nowhere) has a certain Orwellian quality that I’m actually getting into. All this, and I now have much more energy. Bonus!